List of Confederate Presidents(Timeline 191)
'Jefferson Davis(Independent)(1861-1868)' Davis was the man given the unenviable job of leading the nascent Southron nation in the War of Secession. The outcome was far from certain—the Union had manpower, industry and international recognition, something the South as a whole was lacking. Additionally, large swathes of the Southern population were enslaved blacks who understandably were more inclined to favor the Union. Coupled with the fact that the North had more military personnel who had cut their teeth in the Mexican-American War during the Hopkins administration, it seemed as though the South would be destined for defeat. However, Davis’ new Confederate States of America did have some assets of their own. General Robert E. Lee’s decision to abandon the Union in the name of defending his home state of Virginia alone was a major asset, owing to Lee’s great skill as a general. Beyond that, the Confederacy had another, more hidden advantage: a large population of vampires. The vast majority of vampires who had made their way to the New World had established residency in the states that came to make up the Confederacy, owing to the fact that owning slaves made it far easier to obtain the blood they needed for survival. Their support for slavery and general ruthlessness was well-known to US President Abraham Lincoln, who in part regarded the war as an effort to crush the blood-draining vampires in the country once and for all. However, owing to their physical superiority, the presence of vampires on the side of the Confederacy was a major advantage to the CSA. Even a single vampire could wipe out a small Union patrol single-handedly. In addition, their heightened senses came in handy in general—it was a vampire Confederate soldier who managed to avoid the Union obtaining Special Order 191 and thereby ensuring the South won the Battle of Gettysburg. It was initially assumed this victory would be sufficient in achieving international recognition and thus victor in the overall war. However, despite the setback, subsequent Union victories forced the CSA back on the defensive. The efforts of Lincoln to take out key Confederate vampires would go fairly successfully and soon Davis’ government once again was forced on the defensive, facing defeat and possibly execution if radical Republicans like Austin Stoneman got their way. However, in 1864, the tide would firmly turn in the Confederacy’s favor. In that year, General Lee was approached by a man named Andries Rhoodie, a member of a group called America Will Break who offered the South a new rifle capable of firing shots more rapidly than any other contemporary weapon. The new weapon, along with other devices provided by the AWB, would give the South a much greater advantage in the next few battles of the war. Davis ordered that the repeaters (referred to as the AK-47) be distributed to as much of the Confederate military as possible. His order was generally followed and within months, the Confederacy had occupied Washington DC, capturing Lincoln in the process, who to the surprise of the Confederate forces, surrendered on the White House lawn rather than flee. This event marked the end of the War of Secession. Lincoln would sign a surrender document and the Confederacy would gain international recognition, resigning soon after and placing his Vice President Asa Trenchard in the unfortunate position of picking up the pieces, though he would run again. The terms of the peace treaty were generally generous to the North, with only the states that had officially seceded plus the Indian Territory and half of the New Mexico Territory being made part of the CSA, with plebiscites in Kentucky and Missouri to be conducted to determine their status. Ultimately, Kentucky would vote to join the CSA while Missouri elected to remain in the Union for now. In the aftermath of this conflict, Davis was practically worshipped among Confederate citizens as their nation’s George Washington. Behind closed doors, of course, Davis was a far more controversial figure. Lincoln regarded him as little more than a puppet of the vampires of the South and, while that is perhaps a bit harsh, Davis was aware of the existence of vampires and willing to keep it under wraps while allowing them to drain even white Southerners owing to their power and influence. Davis additionally was a slaveowner and supporter of the system of slavery, an obvious blemish for a nation born in large part to maintain such a system. Davis’ theoretical generosity towards the United States was not always maintained even after Lincoln was defeated by Democrat Horatio Seymour. Davis grew arrogant due to the strong ties he managed to forge with France and Britain and thus did not fear the prospect of another war with the United States. He was willing to threaten conflict following the 1867 launch of the Baltimore Columbiad, one of the first forays by man into space, owing to fears it could be used to mount a rocket attack on the Confederacy. Davis also rushed to blame the United States for the rampant “sea monster” attacks that began in 1866 (later revealed to be a submersible operated by a Sikh Indian Captain Nemo largely directed at Britain and her allies). Overall, Davis was at the end of the day a deeply flawed and paranoid man who never was willing to establish solid relations with the United States as a whole and was not by any reasonable standard a good man. However, regardless of his merits as a human being, Davis was the first man to hold the office of President of the Confederate States. He set the country up with its first alliances with Britain and France. Additionally, despite his personal conservatism and pliability to the powers that be, Davis also gave support to reform-minded figures in the Confederacy such as Robert E. Lee. He was the man, after all, who encouraged Lee to run for the presidency of the Confederate States, despite Lee’s abolitionist sentiment. An alliance of genuine believers in the importance of preserving slavery, the various vampires dependent on slavery for sustenance and the AWB was able to come together and form the Patriot Party, which rivaled Lee’s Confederate (later renamed Whig) Party led by Benjamin "Forrest" Cameron, whose vice presidential candidate was the terrible Simon LeGree (who was more than angered by the publication of Uncle Tom´s Cabin ''which chronicles the life of a slave which had suffered his cruelty). Choosing LeGree was his running mate was Cameron´s downfall, as even the confederates themselves where disgusted by his sadistic tendencies. This choice, like Cameron's campaign, was supported by the Vampires and the AWB and so they picked a Running mate that would support their ideals regardless of how it alienated supporters. Due to this, Lee was able to triumph over this coalition, defending slavery and would emerge victorious in the first true Confederate election. Cameron swore his loyalty to Lee. 'Robert E.Lee(Confederate/Whig)(1868-1874)' At Lee's Inauguration on March 1868, he was attacked by the AWB men, having discovered the true original history from a stolen history book. Vice President LeGree and Lee's family were killed. LeGree's death was unintentional. It was intended that Lee be killed and LeGree succeed him, obeying the instructions of the Vampires and the AWB, but the intended assassins used Uzis, gunning down LeGree as well. Lee had become a problem, pushing an anti Slavery agenda in favor of peace with France and Britain and th eintent was to turn him into a martyr for LeGree's campaign.The sabotage of this attempt by the AWB caused a war between the Vampires and the AWB which the AWB won due to coming from 2015, when Vampires had revealed themselves to the world, weaknesses included. The AWB had clearly prepared for this conflict, knowing they'd have to fight them for control. Andries Rhoodie killed the Vampire Leader Jack Barts. The next conflict was between the C.S.A. and the AWB. The C.S. seized several locations. Lee used confiscated History Books to demonstrate to the C.S. how the future universally condemned racism and sway things in his favor. Lee used a plan divised by Union soldier Henry Pleasants, who decided to stay in the Confederacy. Pleasants came up with a strategy which succeeded, when it had originally failed. Lee knew about this as it was recorded in confiscated history books and had Pleasants's name changed so the AWB would not catch on. The C.S. emerged victorious, with Rhoodie being killed by one of his own slaves. This would be the biggest event to occur during Lee's Presidency. The U.S. had started a war and claimed Canada to make up for the territory lost by the C.S. gaining independence. Captain Nemo’s Nautilus continued to terrorize Confederate, British and French shipping, which greatly weakened the Confederate economy (which had only just recovered from the wartime inflation it had suffered). Bandits in rural Texas and the new Territory of New Austin remained a problem, massacring Texan Rangers and the like. Lee was even forced to cooperate with the US to take down the threat of one of the world’s first supervillains, Dr. Miguelito Loveless, who sought to carve out his own territory in land stretching from Texas to California. Loveless had negotiated with France, Britain and Spain to give back their original lands which went against the Confederacy. The only nation that would work with the C.S. was the U.S. and Loveless and his giant spider captured Presidents Lee and Grant, who were rescued by a team of Gunslingers. While Loveless was ultimately defeated, his villainous schemes proved to be a hassle for the Lee administration. The issues pertaining to slavery, however, remained the biggest for Lee’s presidency. For one, Britain and France were opposed to the institution of slavery in general and many members of both countries were reluctant to ally themselves with a country practicing it. A visible snub occurred during Phileas Fogg’s travels around the world in 80 days, during which he actively worked to ensure his trip did not necessitate traveling to the Confederate States at any point. This alone would not be a problem, but growing numbers of Confederates themselves would begin to wonder if maintaining slavery was worth it. Most Confederate whites would never get a chance to own a slave even if slavery remained legal. A decisive factor in ensuring he would lose the battle for Confederate hearts and minds was Django’s Rebellion. Led by a slave who had first turned the tables on his owner in the 1850’s, the Rebellion saw numerous slaves rise up and attack whites, including their owners but also individuals who just happened to be nearby. The Rebellion, while ultimately suppressed. Many Confederates came to the realization that the maintenance of slavery in the CSA would not likely be able to be maintained for much longer. Lee would see to that before he left office. 'Rhett Butler(Independent)(1874-1880) Butler was someone who inspired respect from much of society. Butler had attended West Point (though he was expelled from it) and joined the Confederate Army during the War of Secession. Butler’s service had not been exceptionally distinguished (indeed he had believed the CSA was going to lose up until the AK-47 was utilized for the first time), but was generally acceptable. Butler had briefly been romantically involved with Scarlet O’Hara, the owner of Tara Plantation, in the immediate aftermath of the war, but had ultimately rebuffed her and chosen to focus on entering politics in the early years of the Confederacy. Butler was elected by the state legislature of Georgia to the Senate in 1868. Butler had been a supporter of Lee’s gradual manumission plan (out of necessity if nothing else) and believed that the continuation of slavery would only serve to bring ruin upon the South. He was thus considered the perfect successor for Lee. It was for this reason that Butler chose to enter the 1873 election as the first nominee of the new Confederate Whig Party and easily won over Arthur Weston. One of Butler’s first legislative triumphs was the passage of the Manumission Act. While opposed by the remnant members of the Human supporters of the Vampires, by now they were reduced to only the most hardline figures in Confederate society. These die-hards would form pro-slavery groups to terrorize the black population and white supporters of Butler and prove to be a menace for years to come. The likes of the Knights of Nordica, the Clan of the Fiery Cross and the Regulators (which technically had existed in the 1850’s) all would terrorize the Confederate countryside, murdering opponents both black and white. Despite the threat posed by these terrorists, Butler would stand by the manumission plan (which had the support of Britain and France as well) and ultimately the plan would fully go into effect, though the last few slaves to be freed (belonging to the wealthy, long-lived Fauntroy family) would remain enslaved into the 1890’s and several slaveowners would uproot themselves and move to Brazil and the Dominion of Draka (the last nation to abolish slavery, failing to do so until 1910). Butler’s own attitudes towards race were certainly conservative, but more progressive than most Confederates of his time—for what that was worth for a man who fought for a nation founded on slavery. Beyond addressing the slavery issue, Butler presided over a generally calm period of Confederate history. Butler’s presidency was one of the high points in terms of US-CS relations, with US President Grant favoring a generally friendly stance towards the Confederacy, seeking to practice commerce and trade with the new nation rather than allow tensions to build. Thanks to reaching friendly relationships with the US, the Confederacy was able to expand under Butler’s administration, purchasing the Spanish-owned islands of Cuba, Tropico and San Theodoros in 1878 and later acquiring the northern Mexico provinces of Sonora and Chihuahua a year later. This latter move would cause problems down the line, but at the time, they were generally popular. Butler’s presidency also saw the relationship with Britain and France improve and Mexico would be added to the list of friendly nations as France firmly established the monarchy in the country under Emperor Maximilian. Butler would also deploy troops to help pacify unrest in the Latin American country of Costa Estrella in 1877. Butler would also forge friendly ties with a society discovered by Confederate explorers on the Moon, a monarchy already inhabited by several Confederate troops, who had swayed the Princess of the Moon to their side. Overall, the Butler administration proved to be a highly successful one, presiding over peaceful relations abroad, the beginning of the end of slavery and national expansion. Butler remains one of the most positively-regarded Confederate presidents in history because of all of these accomplishments. However, the aftermath of his presidency and what it ultimately beget leads some historians to question whether Butler’s presidency was really all that successful. The longer term issues the country face can ultimately be traced back to decisions Butler made at the crucial juncture post-War of Secession after all and it is possible some of these problems could have been avoided had he made different ones. However, despite this, Butler would leave office very popular and bequeath it to a fellow Whig and heralded a 24-year period of one-party dominance in the new nation. Some individuals believe Butler deserves more credit than Davis for bringing about the birth of the nation and while that remains disputed, his contributions to the country cannot be denied. '''William Le Petomane(HFR) (Whig)(1880-1886) Le Petomane had been governor of New Austin back when it was a territory. Le Petomane's relatively progressive positions on race (he had appointed the first black sheriff in the US, albeit due to the manipulations of the criminal mastermind Hedley Lamarr) caused some friction with southerners in his party, but largely failed to materialize in a concrete form during his administration. To counter this fear, the Whig Party chose another William, William Beaureg ard as a running mate. Beauregard was an unsurprising choice of Whig nominee. A general and hero of the War of Secession, Beauregard was from a wealthy, respected family and had commanded troops in Louisiana. Many historians credit Beauregard with preventing the Union forces occupying New Bordeaux from overrunning the rest of the state of Louisiana or making their way to other Gulf coast states such as Mississippi, Alabama, Columbiana or Florida. While Beauregard was no General Lee (and had nearly been his opponent in 1867 instead of Cameron), his prowess as a military commander and key role in forging the Confederacy into a modern nation could not be denied. Coupled with the demise of the Patriot Party and the fact the later Radical Liberal Party had not yet been established, The United States in the aftermath of the War of Secession did its best to focus on westward expansion rather than remaining angry at the Confederacy for its triumph. However, the resentment towards the south was not the only issue affecting the Union. Labor unrest steadily increased in the waning years of the 1870’s. Labor leaders such as Larry Locke organized forms of action, some of which such as the Breadwinner’s Revolt or the Valedo strike were fairly violent. The unrest among the working class and the pro-business sentiments of the Samuel J.Tilden administration allowed for an unexpected Republican comeback. Under the leadership of Silas P. Ratcliffe, nicknamed “the Prairie Giant,” the Republicans finally won the presidency for another time since Grant. Ratcliffe was a fairly corrupt politician in his own right, but wisely chose to frame the reasons for the struggles of the working class at the feet of the country’s new southern neighbors. Ratcliffe claimed the Confederate purchase of Sonora and Chihuahua was illegitimate (based largely on a desire to monopolize transcontinental rail travel for the US) and threatened to wage a war should the CSA not withdraw from these provinces. Le Petomane was not so easily cowed and when Ratcliffe entered the White House, a telegram was sent making very clear that the CSA would not cede its territories. Ratcliffe quickly showed himself not to be merely spewing hot air rather quickly, asking for and gaining a declaration of war rather quickly. Beauregard acted decisively to get Britain and France to back the Confederacy in this new conflict. The war was called by Confederate historians later on a “splendid little war” and it is easy to see why. It ultimately was a pretty easy victory for the Confederate-British-French alliance. Ratcliffe had anticipated an easy victory since the US now had the same AK-47s that had won the Confederacy’s independence and also had new mechanical marvels like the Steel Man of the Prairies available to them, but the opponents of the US had other means at their disposal. Britain used their earliest Maturinist “fabrications” created by Dr. Alphonse Moureau during this conflict and, while smaller than the later ones, these hybrids proved devastating to US forces in the field. The naval superiority of Britain also helped a good deal, enabling a blockade of US ports such as Boston, Empire Bay, Gotham City, Los Santos and New York. Furthermore, Beauregard’s tactical skills meant he was a great defensive organizer and ensured all attacks on the CSA were easily repelled. In the end, the war was a humiliating defeat for Ratcliffe, as the US all of Maine north of the small town of Castle Rock to Canada and otherwise returned to the status quo. The only bright spot for the United States was the good performance of future President Lloyd Venture in the battlefield during the conflict, preventing Britain from advancing in Montana. Beyond that, however, the war was a dismal defeat for the United States and Ratcliffe would be unceremoniously be booted from office in 1884. In addition to Le Petomane’s triumph in the Second War Between the States (also called the Second Mexican War), Petomane would face other challenges as leader of the Confederacy. This included growing numbers of encounters with strange phenomena in the western frontier by various settlers. Confederate settlers in the newly acquired Mexican states and New Austin reported a variety of unusual phenomena. Undead outbreaks, alien visitations, attacks by gigantic worms and disappearing trains were all among the sorts of events encountered in the weird west on both sides of the North-South border. Petomane was made away of these developments and often dispatched investigators to look into these events. These figures included the likes of John Reid and Brisco County, Jr. and were in many ways precursors to later paranormal investigation and research groups headed by Vice President Beauregard could in this sense be seen as a forefather to later generations of anomaly investigators—indeed one of his own descendants would participate in such a group (albeit one usually dedicated to debunking hoaxes). Incidentally, Petomane’s successor would be an anomalous entity in and of himself, as a result of strange developments abroad. 'Lestat De Lioncourt(Whig)(1886-1892)' The rise of Lioncourt to the position of president of the Confederate States was only made possible by developments in the British Empire just prior to his election. In 1884, Queen Victoria experienced a severe illness. She seemingly recovered in a matter of days, but in reality she had been cured by the vampire known as Count Dracula. Dracula, one of the oldest and most powerful vampires, now had the queen of England in his thrall. He subsequently elected to reveal his existence (as well as that of vampires as a whole) to the public and imposed a new order in Britain. The country overnight became a de facto police state, with dissidents such as Sherlock Holmes being spirited away to internment camps, sometimes to be drained of blood, but more commonly simply imprisoned. Dracula built Britain into a necrocracy alongside his allies, which included Lord Ruthven(Who became Prime Minister in 1885 and held it until 1940), Count Orlok and many other old world vampires. This development led to numerous vampires emigrating to the British Isles, where they could lord their status over the living in a way not possible anywhere else. The reaction of the Confederacy to the public revelation that bloodsucking vampires walked among them was shock and horror. While the elites had been aware of vampires existing, to much of the public these were evil, demonic creatures. This put the Confederate government in a bit of a tight spot geopolitically. On one hand, they had an angry population calling for the heads of vampires. On the other hand, they had a number of vampiric elites in their country and wanted to maintain a positive relationship with the British Empire (if for no other reason than to keep a vengeful US from attempting to strike back). The leaders of the Whig Party were unsure how to respond until Lioncourt came to them. Lioncourt, a New Bordeaux-based vampire originally turned in France, proposed he run for the position. He argued that he could provide “vampirism with a human face” and that his position would enable shifts in the attitude of the Confederacy. Behind closed doors, Lioncourt did have his own agenda—he feared Dracula’s regime could spell long-term doom for vampirekind as a whole and, having already survived a close encounter with the era’s Slayer, wanted to ensure humanity wouldn’t see vampires simply as a threat. Regardless of his motives, Lioncourt managed to charm his way onto the Whig presidential ticket and managed to narrowly win over three opposing candidates, two of whom were anti-vampire Whigs. Dracula’s Britain maintained cordial relations with the CSA under Lioncourt, though ironically they improved following the collapse of Dracula’s regime in 1899, which had began to collapse for years following the Jack the Ripper murders, which specifically targeted Vampires. Lioncourt’s presidency did successfully produce a government that wasn’t solely of and by vampires. While some vampires, such as Barnabas Collins, Bill Compton and Jasper Hale, were key allies of Lioncourt’s, he did his best to include normal humans in his government. He retained Reid and County as government employees and continued to back efforts at combatting supernatural threats (including more violent and savage members of his own kind). His efforts successfully did illustrate to the humans of the CSA that vampires were not necessarily evil creatures seeking to exert their dominance over humanity. Of course, Lioncourt was hardly innocent—indeed his history was quite bloodsoaked and even if he mellowed out as president, he was still fundamentally a creature of the night who did need to feed on human blood and tended to dismiss those vampires who felt conflicted about their nature as whiny. Lioncourt’s efforts to show his fellow vampires that there was another way of existing alongside humanity also failed to resonate with most vampires—the bulk of them favored the idea of ruling over humanity rather than merely existing alongside it. Lioncourt also had to contend with hostility from the Magical Congress of the Confederate States (the wizarding government of the Confederacy, established following the Secession to deal with the Confederacy specifically), who believed his rule could set the stage for the exposure of the wider wizarding world. Beyond matters pertaining to vampires and other supernatural forces, Lioncourt’s presidency did have to reckon with less unusual figures and events. Lioncourt’s Yankee counterpart, Funny Valentine, was an enigma by any standard. While he was willing to cooperate with the CSA (indeed, Lioncourt helped him organize the transcontinental Steel Ball Run in 1891), he nevertheless perplexed the vampiric ruler and his military buildup made Lioncourt very concerned. Lioncourt’s administration also had to contend with air raids launched by the formidable warlord known as Robur the Conqueror who bombarded the East Coast of North America from Vice City to Arkham. Economically, the Confederacy continued to industrialize, a policy encouraged by Lioncourt to ensure the CSA would be able to withstand any future American attacks. Lioncourt did not seek to alter the manumission plans of Butler and thus slavery’s ultimate phaseout was completed by him. However, Lioncourt did not seek to make any changes to the status of freedmen during his time in office, being generally content with the status quo (as were most of his fellow vampires). In Lioncourt’s last year in office, he surprised many political leaders by declining to back his acolyte Hale for the 1891 Whig nomination. Instead, he favored passing the presidency on to a human. And in the end, he did. 'Jonah Hex(Whig)(1892-1898)' Hex in many ways could be considered the antithesis of Lioncourt. Where Lioncourt was an elegant, refined figure of high society, Hex was a man of the frontier, of the kind they wrote stories about and only sometimes exaggerated. Hex had tangled with numerous outlaws and desperados including El Guapo, Liberty Valence, Angel Eyes and other frontier villains of various stripes. Furthermore, Hex had been among those who often clashed with supernatural beings and figures—he certainly was not one himself. He was more likely to stake a vampire through the heart than talk things out with them. And yet, Hex would end up being the Lioncourt-backed Whig nominee in the 1891 election. Hex’s campaign was the hardest fought since 1867, with the new Radical Liberal Party having been firmly established and nominating the charismatic Huckleberry Finn (formerly of Missouri) for the presidency. A hard-fought but fairly respectful campaign would be waged between the two candidates and in the end, Hex would emerge as the victor. Hex’s tenure would prove to be rather calm, especially considering the extraordinary nature of Hex himself. The biggest issues he would face as president would be economic disruptions (which helped empower the Radical Liberals) and a few uprisings. Benjamin Belgrave’s AMQUO would launch an uprising in the last year of Hex’s term, but be rather easily dealt with. Additionally, Tropican nationalists would revolt against Confederate rule, but they too would successfully be suppressed by Hex’s administration. The biggest uprising that would threaten Hex’s CSA would be by the demonic Ku Klux Klan. Overtly a white nationalist group akin to the Knights of Nordica that emerged around the time of manumission, the KKK was distinct from these sorts of groups solely due to the fact that they were made up of a collection of demonic beings. Hex of course being a staunch opponent of these threats quickly sought to deal with the problem. He created the Confederate Department of Occult Warfare and outfitted members of it with bullets made of celestial bronze (a materiel he only knew of due to friendship with a demigod of Roman descent) and weapons based off of alien technology acquired in the New Austin territory in the 1870’s. With these weapons, the Klan would be successfully defeated. While successful on this front, Hex’s term in the eyes of the public was defined by ongoing economic malaise. Hex’s classical liberal tendencies were seen as being out of touch with the average southerner and come 1897, the people decided to change the direction the country was going. Hex was largely resigned to this fact and barely campaigned for his preferred successor Fitzgerald Beauregard, the son of the former president. Hex’s last days in office would see him negotiate the building of the San Sombrero Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but the completion of which would not be until the twentieth century. In many ways, the most interesting thing about Hex’s presidency was how it ended. When his successor entered office, Hex mysteriously disappeared. Nobody was able to identify where he ended up and to this day it remains a mystery. A popular conspiracy theory holds that Hex somehow was given the ability to travel through time and there have been several cases since the end of Hex’s presidency where he was spotted in various places. This of course has not been confirmed, but coincidentally the Confederate government opened a file on the topic of where Hex ended up in 1903 and it is still barred from the public’s eye to the present day. Category:Characters